This invention relates generally to snow removal equipment and, more particularly, to a vehicle specifically outfitted and configured to collect snow from a ground surface, filter solid debris into a collection container, heat and melt the snow, and release the melted snow into a storm drain or onto the ground.
Large snowfalls onto the streets of big cities have the potential to grind commerce, businesses, schools, and transportation to a halt. Even if snow plows are able to move up and down the streets, the resulting piles of snow can make matters worse, such as by burying parked cars or making walls of snow that narrow the streets to a single path. The enormous piles of snow sometimes take weeks or months to melt and otherwise cause great frustration to residents and motorists. In some cities, the snow may be collected into dump trucks and accumulated in massive piles in parking lots or other designated locations.
Although various devices have been proposed in the art, the collection of snow pushed or dumped into massive piles is inefficient, causes significant overcrowding of the streets, and is unsightly for weeks or months. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a mobile snow melting and removal vehicle that collects snow into a primary chamber where it is agitated and heated to a point of melting and then selectively released from the primary chamber. Further, it would be desirable to have a mobile snow melting and removal vehicle that filters solid debris from collected snow before the collected snow is melted and released.